The Search For A Mate
Chapter 25
Hiei blinked, not sure he'd heard her right. He folded his arms around her. Rayna's tears were killing him. "Don't cry. I don't give a damn about her. She's not worth your tears." He stroked her back. She was shaking. He pulled away and tilted her head up. She was laughing. "Oh, Hiei. These are happy tears. I love you so much." He had heard her right. It made him feel warm. He pulled her back into his arms. He finally had what his friends had. But he had a feeling something was still missing.
Yomi was dancing with Beth. He gave her a teasing smile. "Shura seems to be quite taken with Tara. Should we begin the contract negotiations?" Beth gasped. "Oh Gods. Don't you dare let Kurama hear that tonight. Even in jest." "He objects to my son's attentions?" She shook her head. "He's a father being forced to face his only daughter is growing up. Tonight it wouldn't matter who it was." Yomi chuckled. "Understood. Perhaps at a later date then." Beth sighed. "Why don't we just see what develops? Without interference?" The music stopped and Yomi bowed. "As you wish."
Beth looked up as she heard a disturbance. It sounded like Kuwabara. She turned in the direction the sound was coming from. Others were beginning to look as well. Yusuke was trying to calm Kuwabara down. Kurama was headed their way. Beth left Yomi standing as she rushed over. When she got there, she was horrified at what she saw. Kuwabara was drunk. Very drunk. He was slurring his words. "Thish bashturd insulted Yuki… hic… na. I wanna apple… appol… He butter shay hesh shorry." Yukina was trying to soothe him. "It's ok, Kazuma. He didn't mean anything. Please calm down. You're attracting a lot of attention."
Kuwabara staggered forward. "Thash not goo nuff." He took a swing at the poor little demon. He was small and was terrified of Kuwabara's size. Yusuke got between them. "Come on pal. Let me get you another drink and we'll forget it." Kurama stepped up on his other side. "I think he's already had enough to drink, Yusuke. We need to take him out of here." Kuwabara crossed his arms. "Don waan go. Wan… hic… hish head."
Hiei and Rayna had arrived from somewhere in the direction of the terrace. "What the hell's going on here?" Kuwabara grinned. "Thish liil ash won shay hesh shorry. Theesh two." He pointed at Yusuke and Kurama. "Won lemme kick hish ash." Hiei looked at the other two. "Get him out of here. We'll deal with it later." Hiei turned back to Rayna and Kuwabara grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Allus wanna tell me whadda do. Kish thish." He swung and connected. Hiei hit the floor. He got up wiping blood from his mouth.
The girls were watching in horror at the scene before them. Beth had never seen Kuwabara drunk. Neither had Keiko. Hiei was advancing on Kuwabara. Beth couldn't stay quiet. "Kurama stop them!" Hiei clenched his fists. "You want a piece of me? Bring it on. I told my sister you weren't good enough for her. Now you've proven it." Kuwabara took a staggering step. "Whueva ya shay. M gon re range ur fash." He swung again as Yusuke and Kurama wrapped their arms around him. Hiei punched him in the stomach. He hit the floor on his knees, heaving. "Wuz a sheep chot u ash."
Kuwabara fought off the hands trying to keep him down. He struggled to stand. Hiei growled. "Fuck this." He punched Kuwabara in the jaw and the big man went down. Yusuke stared at his friend on the floor. "Did you have to knock him out? Now I gotta carry him." Kurama leaned down to check his injuries. "He's going to be out a while. Let's get him upstairs." Yukina stepped forward. "No. I'm taking him home." She turned to her friends with a bow. "I am sorry for the trouble he caused. If you will help me get him to a portal." Yusuke grabbed one arm, and Kurama the other. Koenma put a hand on Yukina's shoulder and opened a portal for her.
Mukuro announced the party had come to an end and the guests began to leave. Yomi smirked and gave her a small salute as he left. Once the guests were gone, Mukuro asked everyone to join her in her meeting room. Most were still in shock. Mukuro called a servant to bring drinks and dismissed him when his task was done. All were silent, keeping to their own thoughts. Yusuke and Kurama returned after taking Kuwabara home.
As soon as the door closed, Yusuke covered his mouth and nodded at Kurama. Kurama pulled some seeds from his hair and scattered them. The plants grew to cover the door and the walls. Beth recognized them as the sound absorbers he used in their bedroom. Yusuke waited until the plants were in place and let out a snort that turned into uncontrolled laughter. Kurama and then Hiei joined in.
Beth and Keiko looked at them as if they'd grown two heads. Yusuke was wiping his eyes. "Gods! He should have been in the drama club." Kurama was winding down. "It was quite a performance." Hiei was shaking his head. "The oaf might actually pull it off." Beth and Keiko were confused. Rayna sat quietly. It had seemed contrived to her from the beginning. When Hiei had interrupted their kiss saying he had to be there to play his part, she had known the fight was a sham. She just didn't know why.
Koenma had suspected this was part of the mission and kept Botan from interfering. Kurama sat down next to Beth. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you." Yusuke apologized to Keiko too. "We needed your reactions to be honest." Beth and Keiko exchanged looks. Beth sat back in her chair. "Someone want to tell us what's going on?" It didn't take long to bring them up to speed. Beth couldn't believe it had all been a show. It was so real. "Does Yukina know?" Yusuke snickered. "Yeah. She's known since the beginning. If she thought that had been real, you could have slid Kuwabara home cause she'd make a popsicle out of him."
"So where are they now?" Botan asked. Mukuro sat up. "Downstairs. Getting ready to go into the tank. He'll need an hour with each of us. Yomi's due back in a couple of hours. It would be too suspicious if he stayed overnight." She stood up. "I've got to say, this is the most entertainment I've had in a while." She headed down to make sure the process got started.
Kurama and Yusuke kissed their mates and sent them to their rooms. It would be a long wait and there was no need for all of them to stay awake. Koenma sent Botan off as well. "You need your rest. The baby takes your strength." He kissed her and promised to keep her updated. Rayna put her hand on Hiei's arm. "Is there anything I can do to help?" He stroked her cheek. "No. Everything is already in place. Why don't you get some sleep yourself? I'll wake you when we are through." She nodded and kissed him lightly.
Hiei led the way downstairs. The last time Kurama and Yusuke had been there was when Genkai had almost died. Koenma had wanted to examine the tank, but Mukuro had refused. When they entered, Kuwabara was already in the tank and Mukuro was adjusting the dials to stabilize the solution. Yukina was sitting on a chair by the tank. She had asked Mukuro if the tank would change him. Mukuro had assured her that he wouldn't be there long enough for the tank to make any changes.
Yusuke went first. He placed his hands on the tank where Mukuro instructed and began to emit a steady flow of ki. Kuwabara began to glow as he absorbed the ki. After making sure that everything went as expected, Mukuro went next. She wanted to be able to monitor the end of the process. Yomi arrived during Mukuro's turn so he went next. He couldn't cover his absence from Gendar any longer than that.
Kurama went after Yomi. Mukuro constantly monitored the readings. Ready to take whatever action might be necessary if there were a problem. When Hiei took the final turn, they were all impatient to see if it had been a success. It was almost dawn when Hiei backed away from the tank and Mukuro adjusted the dials to slowly drain the tank and bring him out of it.
When it opened, Yusuke and Kurama caught him and carried him to the table. He was still unconscious. Yukina came forward and took his hand. Hiei laid a hand on his shoulder and let his warmth dry the man off. Mukuro left her console to examine him. "Do you feel that?" The others nodded. "He's as powerful an S class as any of us." Yusuke acknowledged. Kurama agreed. "And the energy is demon. I don't sense human at all."
Kuwabara began to stir. He sat up a hand going to his head. "Are we done?" Hiei chuckled. "All but your makeover. Did we remember to tell you that you get to be a woman?" He turned to his brother in law with a scowl. "Very funny shrimp. How'd ya like me to try out my new power level by making our fight real?" He slid his legs off the table and covered himself with his hands. "Jeez guys. Can I have some clothes?"
Koenma handed him a box. "The Reikai's contribution to the mission." Kuwabara opened the box. He pulled out a pair of pants. They were made of a leather like material. "Kunut demon hide. Very hard to kill. Most won't fall to less than an A class demon." Koenma told him. Kuwabara slid them on to cover himself. They felt soft and moved well. Not stiff and constricting like leather in the Ningenkai.
He pulled out a shirt that was similar to a tank top. He pulled it over his head. It had the consistency of a thick mesh. "Fabric woven from tarick fur. They hunt at night and are almost impossible to see. Those who do see them rarely survive to tell about it." Koenma supplied. The jacket was next. Sleek, black, short haired fur. He stroked it. It felt almost like Eikichi. He looked at Koenma. "If this is a cat, I'm not wearing it."
Koenma chuckled. "Close. Panther demon. The Makai's most fierce assassins. It was either that or wolf, and I happened to have panther on hand." Kuwabara put it on. "I can do panther. They aren't cute and cuddly." He lifted the final item out of the box. Boots. Hiei took a step forward. "Are those?" Koenma crossed his arms and nodded proudly. "Yes. Those are dragon scales." Hiei reached out to touch them almost lovingly. "Where did you get them?" "The skin has been in the Reikai vault for centuries. I finally found a use for it."
Kurama was impressed. "You've assembled a wardrobe of the toughest demons in the Makai." Yusuke whistled. "Man if they believe you killed all those yourself, then they'll think you're one bad ass son of a bitch." Hiei smirked. "That's the idea, detective." Mukuro walked around him, assessing. "Ok. Fashion show's over. We need to work on the rest." Kuwabara shoved his hair out of his eyes. Without the gel he used to tame it, it hung in his face. Mukuro grabbed a handful of it and pulled it back. With his high forehead, which is what his usual hairstyle was meant to conceal, he looked almost piratical. Mukuro grinned.
She drug off the jacket and tugged the shirt over his head. Before he could protest, she'd wrapped a towel around his shoulders. "Kurama, what do you know about hair dye?" An hour and a half later using a mixture of Ningenkai walnut bark and some Makai plants, Kuwabara was now a brunette. Mukuro pulled his hair back into a high ponytail. She handed him a mirror. "This shit will come out won't it?" Kurama shook his head. "Not with soap or water, no." "You mean I'm stuck like this til it grows out?"
Kurama chuckled. "No. It will take a plant solution to neutralize it. I can get it out easily once you get back, but it won't come out at say an inopportune moment." "Oh. I got it." Yukina had watched silently as they turned her mate into someone even she didn't recognize. She walked over to his side. She stroked his cheek and looked into his eyes. "I have my own contribution to the mission, besides my mate."
She pulled out a needle and with her other hand she grasped his earlobe. She let her power swell until his ear was numb. She speared the needle through his ear. Setting the needle down, she lapped up the trickle of blood as she let her healing powers close the wound. He now had a perfect piercing in his left ear. She took his hand and placed an earring in it. He looked down to find a small gold loop with one of her tear gems dangling from it. She kissed his lips as she attached it to his newly pierced ear. "Something else difficult to obtain in the Makai. And something to remind you of why you are there."
He pulled her into his embrace and held on tight. "I don't need the reminder. It's with me every day. My family." He looked up to the others. "Take care of them for me while I'm gone." He took off his wedding ring and handed it to Yukina. "Keep that safe for me until you can put it back where it belongs." She nodded fighting tears. "I love you Kazuma." Koenma handed him another ring. It had a raised stone in the center of it. "It's a tracker. It will let us know where you are. When you find the camp, twist the stone. It will lead us to them. Good luck."
Kurama put a hand on his shoulder. "Take care of yourself. If you think you've been compromised, get out. Don't take any unnecessary chances." Hiei held out his hand. Kuwabara took it. "Get in. Get the job done. And get out. I don't like seeing my sister cry." Yusuke grabbed him in a bear hug. "You better come back in one piece or I'll have Koenma bring you back so I can kick your sorry ass."
Kuwabara stood and twisted his neck left, then right to pop it. He looked over his shoulder one last time at Yukina. "I love you babe. I'll be back soon." When he turned around again, his expression was cold, that of someone who had no attachments and didn't want any. Koenma opened the portal for him. He shook his arms out and adjusted the collar of his jacket. Then he walked into the portal without a backward glance. Koenma closed it behind him.
Yukina took off her mother's tear gem and untied the cord. She slipped her mate's wedding ring on it and retied the cord before slipping it over her neck once more. She stroked the small swell of her abdomen. "Your father will be home soon little one. We'll just have to be patient." Then the tears she'd been holding back began to fall.
To be continued….